Installed the new version, which went smoothly, but it hasn't corrected my issues with this software. As soon as I open IE and browse to a site with streaming video, WDFME grabs my CPU, using at least 50% of it (see below). Memory is not an issue for me but CPU usage is killing me. This occurs whether I have the drive connected or not. Any other suggestions before I permanently uninstall this software?

I can't understand why this thread is not getting any attention from the people at WD. They must be monitoring, right?

I have been waiting patiently a long time for this software upgrade because in principle Smartware is just what I want: it is simple, effective and free. Unfortunately it is also driving me crazy because it slows everything else down unacceptably.

I think that if WD can't get it right they should withdraw it because releasing poor software is bad for the company's reputation. The best of all worlds would be to do a deal with a good piece of backup software and bundle that with their drives. Such a deal would probably not cost more than the money they spend on developing Smartware.

Not-so-SmartWare

One of the main reasons I purchased the WD My Passport was for the integrated automatic backup solution. Boy, was I snookered.

I upgraded last night to the latest version of SmartWare 1.5.4.5. It took a while to install, but happened without complications. The software then took over 12 hours to categorize and backup 3.5 Gbytes of data. Not exactly the performance I was looking for. I then looked up information on this forum for version 1.5.1.6 and determined that the problem is systemic and not likely to be fixed anytime soon.

The solution I have found that works perfect for me is Synchronicity available from sourceforge at sourceforge.net/projects/synchronicity. It allows me to backup entire directories, then subsequent backups will only copy the files that changed. The software is free and very straightforward to use. I love the My Passport drive, and this allows me to use it effectively.

I love my WD drive but, really am completely dissatisfied with the Smartware software. I've been using the software for a couple of years now and it has been a major resource hog from the beginning. The code is clearly not well written and WD appears completely insensitive this issue/problem/bug since they have had multiple opportunities to tune the code to make it much more CPU friendly. It's inexcusable for such a highly regarded company that makes great hardware to completely ignore the continuous complaints from its users regarding its poor software application.

The web is full of negative comments about the Smartware application but, sadly, WD is not listening.

I've decided to abandon the application and find another one that is much more CPU friendly.

This update has continuously failed for me. I have been trying to backup my hard drive for the last few days but whenever I open the software, it tells me there's a software update. I follow all the steps to install the update and reboot my computer to finish the update. Upon rebooting, the software tells me it's still the same version as it was to begin with. In other words, I spent all that time trying to update and it never installed. I've contacted customer support but they're basically useless. I can honestly say that once I run out of space on my 2 terabyte drive, I will NEVER buy a Western Digital again. I prefer to buy products that work and work when they say they will.